


Mountain Man

by StaciNadia



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beards (Facial Hair), Beta Derek Hale, Evolved Derek Hale, Happy Ending, M/M, Nudity, Past Braeden/Derek Hale, Pining Derek Hale, Recluse Derek Hale, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Sterek Secret Santa, True Alpha Scott McCall, Werefox Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-15 08:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13027611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StaciNadia/pseuds/StaciNadia
Summary: Derek lives a reclusive life in the Rocky Mountains until the appearance of a strange fox.





	Mountain Man

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Seven_Abominable_Snowmen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seven_Abominable_Snowmen/gifts).
  * Translation into Русский available: [Горец](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15504228) by [fandomBoroda2018](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomBoroda2018/pseuds/fandomBoroda2018)
  * Translation into Español available: [Mountain Man (Traduccion)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15893883) by [yuki_yuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_yuki/pseuds/yuki_yuki)



> For the Sterek Secret Santa on Tumblr! [whitewolvesandtulips](http://whitewolvesandtulips.tumblr.com/) liked "gruff and brooding bearded misunderstood men who like isolation except for their one exception" and werefox Stiles, so have a reclusive Derek, a werefox Stiles, and some eventual happiness!

It was peaceful, living in the mountains, Derek thought as he sat at his kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. His nearest neighbors were miles away, and it took him a couple of hours to drive to the nearest town. He had solitude, peace, and quiet. It was just how he liked it.

After Derek had evolved, he’d left Beacon Hills and never looked back. He hadn’t felt like he’d belonged there once his family was all gone. All but two were dead, and Peter and Cora had long since left themselves. Scott and his pack hadn’t really needed him anymore. They had Deaton and the Argent’s bestiary for information if they ever needed it. 

He had traveled with Braeden for a while in the beginning, but eventually their paths had separated. Derek had never expected that they would stay together for long, either as traveling companions or romantic partners. They’d parted amicably, though, and she had promised to help him out if he ever needed it. He hadn‘t needed to call her yet.

He’d been in New Mexico when he and Braeden had parted ways. Then he had traveled north and made his way into the Rocky Mountains. It was frigid around the mountain peaks, but he’d found that about halfway up the mountains was the perfect place for him to live. There were plenty of trees and forests to run around in, especially since he’d evolved and could transform into a full wolf, just like his mother and sister had.

The memories of his family had gotten less painful over the years. He’d had plenty of time to think since he’d been alone with no one to distract him. He’d finally come to understand that what had happened to his family had never been his fault. He still felt sad that his family was no longer with him and that he was a pack animal left all alone, but the guilt had mostly gone away. And he’d released the anger that had once consumed him. It hadn’t been his anchor since a while before he’d left, and it had just been added weight on his soul. He’d felt _so_ much freer now that it was gone.

He often wondered if his family would be proud of him. He knew deep down in his heart that they would be so thrilled that he didn’t feel guilt or anger anymore in regards to their death. His family had always just wanted happiness for him and his siblings. He’d also never begrudged Scott his family’s old territory as he was a true alpha and Derek hadn‘t been an alpha since he gave up his alpha power to save his sister Cora’s life. But he did still occasionally wonder if he should have remained there as it had been one of the few things left of his family. He tried not to think about that too much.

But now he was carving out a new territory for himself in a new place. With the money he’d from his family‘s insurance, he’d managed to buy himself a large portion of land and supplies needed to build and furnish a house. He’d hired people to build a small cabin, built to his specifications, but he’d been right there helping them out, hammering nails and sawing wood. He himself had added on the porch.

He left his cabin twice a month to get food and other supplies. The people in town were friendly, but they didn’t pry into his business too much. He even ate at the diner when he went to town sometimes and occasionally socialized a bit with the people there. But mostly, Derek was alone. It was a reclusive life, but Derek had grown satisfied with it. 

He’d become used to being alone. A wolf, even a werewolf, was a pack animal and liked to be with others of its kind. But it had been years since he’d been around another wolf, or even someone that he could consider pack. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever even want to live among humans or even other packs again. But being alone came with a price that Derek never wanted to pay.

One of Derek’s biggest fears had always been that he would become an omega, go feral, hurt someone, and be put down by hunters. That was often the fate of a werewolf who didn’t have a pack anymore. But sometimes he thought he still felt the faintest feeling of pack deep down inside, which had given him a small feeling of contentment. As he hadn’t seen them in almost five years, though, he wasn’t sure if it had just been a figment of his imagination.

Along with the mental growth, he had changed a little physically since leaving as well. The muscles he’d once had as an alpha were back as he performed a lot of physical labor due to living alone. He also occasionally helped out with building houses or furniture for someone else if he heard about anything while in town, which he was paid for. He’d also grown his beard beyond just stubble. It was now a little bit long and bushy. He could almost hear Stiles’ voice in his head calling him a mountain man or some other ridiculous name.

Stiles was the one thing that he still had regrets about leaving behind in Beacon Hills. But Stiles had been young, would probably still be in college now. He was probably going to stay in the pack, meet some nice guy or girl who’d sweep his flailing form off his feet, and live happily ever after. Without Derek. He didn’t need Derek screwing up his life.

He sighed. Thinking about Stiles always made him want to run back to Beacon Hills, but he couldn’t do that. He’d grown since leaving, been better mentally. He was better off never going back to that toxic place again. Even for Stiles.

Suddenly, he heard a very soft scratching at his front door. He was immediately on alert, especially since nobody had any idea where he was, including all the hunters. He hoped that the hunter community still assumed he was dead since he’d died prior to evolving, and Chris Argent wouldn’t reveal the truth. 

He listened to the rapidly beating heartbeat outside his door. It seemed to be the heartbeat of an animal, though something about it reminded him of Stiles a little. He crept to the front door and swung it open, prepared to let loose his claws if needed.

There was a fox sitting on his doorstep, its red bushy tail swishing around behind it. It looked up at him, chattering excitedly. Then it walked over and started rubbing up against him like a cat would.

Derek was suspicious. This was definitely not normal fox behavior. Could it be someone cursed by a witch? Or maybe a shifter, a werefox? He never personally knew any werefoxes, and he couldn’t remember his family ever having talked about them or knowing one. The closest creature that he could think of to them were kitsunes like Kira and Noshiko, and he knew that they couldn’t transform into foxes. He thought that maybe they might know something about them, though.

He rarely ever turned it on, but he still had his old cell phone from back when he’d still lived in Beacon Hills. It was mostly filled with messages from Stiles over the years alternating between wondering where he was or if he was even still alive and just babbling on about his life, but there had also been the occasional message from Scott letting him know how things were in Beacon Hills and a message from Kira letting him know she had left town as well.

He didn’t know if he wanted to contact anyone from Beacon Hills, but Kira seemed safe enough. As far as he knew, she still wasn’t back in Beacon Hills. She’d been sweet and kind and been able to handle herself well with a katana, and he’d liked her while he knew her.

He went into his bedroom and opened the drawer where the phone was hidden away. He hesitated for a few moments before turning on the phone, ignoring the 53 new messages from Stiles since he‘d last turned on the phone, and pulled up Kira’s contact information. Hoping that she still had the same phone number, he pressed call and hoped that she would pick up.

After a few rings, a female voice gasped and said, “Derek, is that you?”

Derek inwardly sighed in relief at hearing Kira’s voice. “Yeah. Hi, Kira.”

“How have you been doing? Are you back in Beacon Hills yet? I’m not because I still have a lot more training to do,” Kira blurted out excitedly.

Derek laughed. He didn’t realize how much he’d missed hearing one of his old pack’s voices. “I’m okay. I’m not in Beacon Hills.” He didn’t mention anything about probably never going back there. He didn’t need to hear any disappointment. He didn’t want anything to ruin his improved mental state and cause him to possibly go feral. That just couldn’t happen.

“That’s okay!” Kira chirped. If she’d sensed any nervousness from Derek, she didn’t say anything, for which he was very grateful. “So what’s up?”

Derek glanced at the little fox, who had come into the cabin and was sniffing around, exploring every inch of the cabin and chattering away. “I have a fox here who doesn’t act like a fox. I know that kitsunes don’t shift, but can you tell me about anything that might shift into a fox, like maybe a werefox?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

There was a pause while Kira thought. “Werefoxes are rare, but they _are_ able to shift into a fox form.”

“I had a feeling that fox is a shifter,” Derek said. “Either that or someone who got cursed by a witch.”

The werefox, seemingly oblivious to Derek’s conversation, tried jumping up on the kitchen counter. Unfortunately, it misjudged its jump and didn’t make it all the way up to the counter. It fell to the ground in a heap, but before Derek could go over to check on it, the fox simply shook itself off and went off exploring elsewhere.

“Are you still there, Derek?” came Kira’s voice from the phone he’d nearly forgotten.

“Yes, I’m still here, but I have to go and see why this werefox or whatever came to see me for whatever reason,” he explained. 

“Okay,” Kira said. “It was really nice talking to you again! Don’t be a stranger, okay?” He could picture her bright smile.

“Okay,” Derek agreed. “Bye, Kira.”

“Bye!”

Derek hung up the phone and went over to the fox. It was standing in a patch of light from one of the windows and looked like it was smiling. As Derek got closer, he gasped. In the light, he saw that the creature had tiny brown spots all over its coat. While foxes weren’t always a perfect red and white, he knew that those brown spots were not normal. In fact, they reminded him of Stiles‘ moles.

Derek froze. The talkativeness. The brown spots. The clumsiness. Everything about this fox just screamed Stiles. “Stiles?” he asked tentatively.

He had a brief glimpse of the fox smiling at him before it began shifting. It transformed into the boy--no, the man he’d been thinking about.

Stiles actually had some ragged stubble over his jaw, which made Derek wonder just how long he’d been wandering around as a fox. His pale body, which he was now seeing every inch of, was covered in those tiny little moles. He tried not to think about how much he wanted to kiss each and every one of them.

Stiles turned red and covered himself with his hands. “Hey, there, Derek!” he greeted, trying for casualness and failing miserably. “So this is where you’ve been hiding.” 

Werewolves didn’t particularly care about nudity, as they had to strip for shifting, but Derek still rushed to a drawer to grab some sweatpants for his uninvited but not unwelcome guest to wear.

“Thanks, man!” Stiles grinned, using the sweatpants to cover himself. “I know you don’t care about being naked, but I’m not exactly fond of it. Maybe in time. Maybe if I get buff just like all you hunky werewolves…” He blushed and shuffled off to another room to pull on the pants.

Moments later, he walked out wearing the sweatpants. They were big on him, and sat on his bony hips. But they kept him covered, and that was the important thing. “Ah, it’s nice to be wearing pants again,” he said, sighing in relief. “You’re looking as amazing as ever. And that beard suits this new lumberjack-ish you.” He mimicked stroking a beard on his face. 

“Why were you a fox?” Derek asked, skipping right over the small talk. “And why did you come here of all places?”

“Always straight to the point,” Stiles laughed nervously. “So, yeah, funny story. I got bitten by a werefox. We weren’t expecting one to be in Beacon Hills. We’d never even _heard_ of a werefox before, and it’s not like he came to Scott asking for permission to be in Beacon Hills like he should have.”

Derek closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, Stiles.” He knew that Stiles had never wanted the bite right from the start.

Stiles shrugged. “Well, I’m stuck with it now. Might as well make the best of it, you know? And at least my father knew about the supernatural before it happened.”

“Was he angry?” Derek asked.

“No. But he did hope that I wouldn’t be so clumsy as a fox. He didn’t get his wish,” Stiles chuckled sheepishly. “But anyways, we tried to find stuff out about werefoxes, but we didn’t have any luck. Not even Chris Argent knew anything. No one knew what would happen if I ever shifted. Which of course happened by accident.”

“Of course it did,” Derek tried to hide his smile. Silly, flailing, clumsy, loveable Stiles.

“I turned into a fox, like you were able to turn into a wolf before you _left_.” His voice got a little wobbly on the last words. “Um, anyways, I didn’t know how I shifted, and I definitely didn’t know how to shift back. Scotty tried to help, Lydia too, but I just couldn’t shift back. I at least could use my cute little foxy nose to type on my phone to communicate with everyone, but I knew I couldn’t just be a fox until some other werefox came into town to help me, because who knew how long _that_ could be! So I went looking for you.”

Derek was surprised. “For me? Why?”

Stiles looked right into Derek‘s eyes. “It was your scent. I felt so protected when I was around it, like at your loft. I knew I had to try and find you.”

Derek’s breath caught. He definitely wasn‘t expecting that. He had been attracted to Stiles’ scent, as well as the rest of him, for years, and to find that Stiles was now finding his scent to be a comfort was quite a revelation. For a moment, he let himself picture a future where he and Stiles were together and so very happy.

“When I shifted,” Stiles continued, “I caught your scent, and I couldn‘t get it out of my head. I thought maybe you would know how I could shift back. I carried my cell phone in my mouth to keep letting my dad and Scott at least know that I was still okay. I’d just send them a quick message saying ‘I’m okay’ or something.”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t carrying a cell phone when you came to my door. Did you lose it on your way?”

“Actually, I hid my phone in a tree outside your house. I have to go get it soon and let them know I found you!” Stiles explained. “But anyway, I accidentally shifted back while I was sleeping one night. I kept going because I really wanted to see you.” He bit his lip and looked at Derek.

The werewolf stepped closer to Stiles. “I’m glad I got to see you,” he said softly.

Stiles smiled gently. “You can see more of me. You’re always welcome back in Beacon Hills, you know. You’re pack.”

“I’m not pack,” Derek insisted stubbornly. He couldn’t be.

“Yes, you are,” Stiles said, sounding completely convinced of that fact. He poked Derek in the chest. “Don’t you still feel the pack bond? Don’t you ever wonder why you’ve never gone omega?”

Derek was shocked. For the first time, he reached out and felt for the faint pack bonds that he’d thought had just been his imagination. He could feel five distinct bonds. One had the feeling of alpha and home, which was Scott. A slightly weaker bond he could tell was Lydia’s. There were fainter ones that he could tell were Isaac and Kira, who also weren’t physically with the McCall pack. He was touched that Isaac still considered him pack, considering how bad of an alpha he had been to him. And Stiles’ bond had been the strongest of all and the one that made Derek think he might still actually be pack. And it was getting stronger now that they were reunited.

“It was real,” Derek said in awe. 

“Of _course_ it was, big guy!” Stiles said, putting a hand gently on his shoulder. “Did you honestly think we would have kicked you out? You were always our guide, whether we wanted it or not at the time.” He chuckled sheepishly. “But you’re still pack. You will always be pack, and you’ll always have a place with us.”

“I don’t know if I want to leave here,” Derek said quietly, looking out the window so he wouldn’t have to look at Stiles’ disappointed or angry face. 

“This _is_ a pretty nice place.” Stiles didn’t sound disappointed or angry. Derek chanced a look at him and he was looking around the kitchen in interest now that he was human again. “I don’t think I would leave such an awesome place, either. Did you really build all this?”

Derek was surprised that Stiles had noticed. He was proud of his little cabin. It wasn’t brimming with furniture and useless knickknacks, but it had everything he needed. “Yeah,” he said. “How did you know?”

Stiles smiled at him and touched a finger to his nose. “I could smell it,” he told him. “I’m a werefox now, so I can smell all the hard work and love that went into this place.”

“It’s not just the cabin,” Derek said suddenly. “I don’t fit in in Beacon Hills. And there are so many bad memories there. I don’t have all the guilty feelings that I had, but I don’t know if I can ever be comfortable back there again.”

Stiles tilted his head. “That’s okay. You don’t have to come back if you want to. I just want you to know that you can if you ever change your mind. Everyone misses you. _I_ missed you.” He blushed at his admission.

“I always regretted leaving you behind,” Derek said quietly. “But you were still only seventeen at the time. You still had your senior year to go in high school.”

“Well, you did leave me behind,” Stiles said with a grin. “But now I’ve found you.” His grin turned into a devilish smirk. “And I’ve been traveling for weeks and weeks with no Roscoe. I think maybe I need to stay here and recuperate.” He looked worried for a moment. “I mean, if it won’t bother the solitude you have going here. Or if you even want me here. Or…”

Derek stopped him by putting a finger to his mouth. “You can stay here all you want.”

Stiles’ eyes lit up. “Really? That’s awesome! You know,” he said conspiratorially, “where _are_ we exactly? Is this Colorado? Or Wyoming? Or Utah? Or somewhere else? Come on, tell me, Derek!”

Derek laughed loud and happy. He had a feeling that he’d be making that sound a lot more in the future.

**********

A few months later, Derek was sitting on his porch again. The chair beside him was occupied too. And he was okay with that.

“You’re much happier here than in Beacon Hills,” John Stilinski told him.

“I am,” Derek admitted.

Stiles had been staying with him for the past few months, only going home long enough to get his Jeep and drive back. He went to town much more frequently than Derek, and the townsfolk loved the talkative young man. When he wasn’t in town, though, he was with Derek. They had fun shifting into their animal forms and playing around. He bought lots of new books for them to read, and he brought his laptop from home so they could watch movies together. Derek didn’t know his life could be so good.

He still wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to Beacon Hills, so they started out by inviting Beacon Hills to them. John, of course, as Stiles’ father was the first visitor. Kira would be coming by in a couple of months. 

“You don’t have that haunted look that you used to have,” John said. “Being away is good for you. Maybe it will be good for Stiles, too.”

“I would never keep Stiles from you,” Derek said quickly, not wanting the man to misunderstand. “He is always free to leave and see you, or move back in with you or near you if that’s what he wants.”

“But that’s _not_ what Stiles wants,” came a voice from behind him.

Derek turned and saw Stiles glaring at him while he handed him a drink. “Stiles wants to stay here with Derek and try to make things work.”

John cringed. “Talking about yourself in the third person again, son?”

“Of course!” Stiles handed his father the other drink he held, then sat down in Derek’s lap and wrapped his arms around him. “Do you still _want_ me to stay here with you and make things work?” he asked anxiously.

Derek responded with a chaste kiss to Stiles’ lips.

Stiles grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes!”

Life wasn’t quite as peaceful, but it was happy, and Derek liked that so much more.


End file.
